WASHINGTON (7News) — The D.C. Council is weighing a bill to separate the discussion of a stadium proposal at the RFK site from talks over the city’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget, citing extra steps that could otherwise delay the budget as a whole.
Council chair Phil Mendelson’s proposal would allow the District to have further conversations on a proposed stadium site for the Washington Commanders and other related developments on the land.
The proposal was approved by the Council’s Committee of the Whole.
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The proposal would not remove funding for the stadium site, roughly $1 billion, from Mayor Bowser’s current proposed budget.
Instead, the council would consider the amount of money that could be distributed for the project, while establishing separate funds for the RFK Campus infrastructure and supporting other youth, amateur, and professional sports programs in the area.
Read the full proposal below or by clicking here:
Mendelson wrote that the city needs to pass the budget within the next three weeks, but the RFK proposal would still need to undergo a financial analysis from the D.C. Chief Financial Officer.
Commanders officials have sought a strict timeline in bringing the team back to the District before 2030, a promise Mendelson said in a letter he plans to keep.
“The Commanders want to open their new stadium in five years,” a portion of Mendelson’s letter to the council read. “We want to see that, too, and will work within the Commanders’ 2030 timetable.”